Someone's One

I have had the distinct pleasure of photographing this little guy throughout his first year. It has truly been a privilege, as he (and his mama) are fun and easy going, making each appointment a highlight on my calendar. You can check him out and watch him grow -- and see his gorgeous big sisters -- by clicking here, here, here and here.

He turned one around the holidays, and we recently headed out to capture some images of him at this big milestone. It was an entertaining workout chasing him around and grabbing shots here and there. We enticed and cajoled and suggested and ran interference when things got dangerous... but mostly we just let him do his thing. Here's a sampling of what we got. :)

Did You Hear My Anguished Cry?

If you heard, at about noon today, an anguished wail ricocheting off the hills of San Luis Obispo, you can safely assume that it originated from me. I was catching up on downloading personal images... and in the course of doing that, I realized that I had deleted an entire set of fun shots of my kids that took a lot of bribing and a great deal of stress to capture.

(Okay, to be honest, there was no keening, shrieking or wailing. There was, however, a moment during which my jaw fell into my lap, followed by a string of expletives.)

You see, I am practically religious about downloading and backing up my client sessions. I have systems and strategies and those images get immediate and careful treatment. But my personal images, well... A lot of times those sit on a memory card until I find some time to get them onto my computer and sorted. It's a bad habit. And now I'm paying the price.

There were probably 40 or so shots of my kids at a super fun location. I'd dragged them there before dinner last Monday, and as I said, it was painful. They were all in kooky moods and it was muddy and no one listened... but I managed to get at least a dozen really awesome images. I was excited to have them and -- true to form -- I felt that there wasn't any big hurry to do anything with them.

Ugh. I am going on record to say that I have learned my lesson. I swear. I will not do this to myself again. Thank goodness I protected a couple of the shots on the spot. They're not even my favorites of the bunch... Those were definitely the individuals... These are just shots I happened to think were decent and so I hit the "protect" button in the moment.

Perhaps I can come up with a way to entice my monkeys into heading out there with me again sometime.

Maybe we can recreate those lost images.

I guess a girl can always hope.





And another crop of that one, since these are all I have to work with. :(



I should note that I've done this before, long ago. (I know, I know.) Back then, I purchased a card reader that allowed me to recover the files. Unfortunately, that card reader no longer works. I suppose that I could research and buy a new card reader, and I could go through the process of trying to get these shots back... I'll have to think about that and whether or not it's worth the time and expense. :(

New Year, New Babe

It was a busy and travel-filled holiday break for the Clausen crew, and while it was all great, I have to say that I was more than ready to send everyone back to their respective classrooms this morning. Despite our road trips taking us away from home, there is much to clean up and organize around the house; my kids have an incredible knack for putting the hurt on their rooms... the family room... my studio... pretty much every room during their extended periods at home.

There is also work to be done, starting with editing a session for a new client I got to meet up with last Friday. You've got to love California and the fact that we can play and take photos outside -- even barefoot -- during the first week of January. :)

Those cute little toes did get cold after awhile, but little Mr. R was a super sport.

















And finally, I love the little green shoot popping up next to this little sprout!